Refrigerator butter compartment



April 7, 1959 P. L- CONING REFRIGERATOR BUTTER COMPARTMENT FiledvFeb. 21, 1957 .1 l I I I I l l l Hi5 ATTORNEY;

United States Patent REFRIGERATOR BUTTER COMPARTMENT Donald L. Coning, Mound, Minn., assignor to General Motors Corporation, Detroit, Mich., a corporation of Delaware Application February 21,1957, Serial No. 641,606 1 Claim. c1. 257-3 This invention relates to refrigeration and particularlycompartment. Such a compartment has been located within the refrigerated food storage chamber and recently, in order to render a butter compartment more readily accessible, it has been provided on refrigerator cabinet doors. Generally these compartments are artificially or electrically heated to maintain butter stored therein at approximately 65 F. so that the butter will be at a proper spreading temperature immediately upon removing the butter from a refrigerator cabinet. The location of an electrically heated butter storage compartment in or on a refrigerator cabinet door necessitates extending lead wires from the main body of the cabinet to or into the door thereof either through the door hinges or by detachable plug and socket arrangements. This is not entirely satisfactory because the arrangements are somewhat unsightly, complicated and expensive thus increasing manufacturing costs of refrigerators and present production line assembly problems thereof. Moreover the electric lead wires become so deteriorated by frequent movement of the refrigerator cabinet door that they break and often children playfully disconnect the electric plug on a lead wire from its socket thus rendering the butter compartment warmer inoperative. My innovation therefore resides in the provision of a butter storage compartment for a refrigerator cabinet which eliminates the necessity of warming the compartment by artificial heating means and utilizes natural or inherent existing temperatures to heat such a compartment so as to overcome problems involved in extending electric current conducting wires from a refrigerator cabinet into its door.

An object of my invention is to provide an improved conditioning arrangement for a butter storage compartment of a refrigerator cabinet.

Another object of my invention is to provide for the automatic warming of a butter storage compartment in a refrigerator cabinet continually throughout yearsof operation of the refrigerator without the user thereof in-- curring any expense for such purpose.

Still another'object of my invention is to provide an arrangement for warming a butter storage compartment in a refrigerator cabinet by the temperature of air ambient to or outside the refrigerated chamber of the cabinet.

A further and more specific object of my invention is to provide a refrigerator cabinet with a butter storage compartment exposed to the low temperature of the refrigerated food storage chamber thereof for cooling the butter below room temperatures which compartment is substantially sealed from foods in the food storage cham her so as not to absorb odors thereof and is automatically vented to air ambient to the food chamber in response to the temperature of the butter compartment whereby butter stored therein is kept in the refrigerator at a detain the same at approximately 65 F. The cabinet door- 2,880,971 Patented Apr. 7, 1959 ice sired spreading temperature above the temperature maintained in the refrigerated food storage chamber.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, wherein a preferred form of the present invention is clearly shown.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a front view of a household refrigerator cabinet showing the cabinet door open with a butter storage compartment of the present invention thereon and adapted to be disposed in heat exchange relationship with the low temperature of a food storage chamber in the cabinet; and v Figure 2 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken on the line 2-2 of Figure 1 through the refrigerator cabinet door showing the butter storage compartment and venting control means therefor.

Referring to the drawings for illustrating my invention I show in Figure 1 thereof a two-temperature multiple chambered household refrigerator cabinet including outer metal panels or walls 11 and separate inner metal liners or walls 12 and 13 spaced from walls 11 and having any suitable or desirable insulating material disposed therebetween as is conventional in the art. The insulated cabinet walls define or form an upper open front unfrozen food storage chamber 14 and a lower freezing or frozen food storage chamber provided with an individual door 16. These chambers are insulated from one another and a single insulated door structure 17, hingedly mounted on the cabinet, extends across both chambers and carries a gasket 18 adapted to sealingly engage the front of the cabinet. Walls 1 of the cabinet extend downwardly below the freezing chamber, closed by door 16, and provide a machine compartment in the bottom of the refrigerator cabinet. An air passageway formed in back of liner 12 by walls indicated at 21 is provided with inlet openings 22 and an air outlet opening 23 both communicating with the interior of food storage chamber 14. A closed refrigerating system is associated with the refrigerator cabinet and includes a first evaporator 26 in the form of a conduit coiled or wrapped around and secured to the outer surface of liner 13 of the lower freezing chamber and a second evaporator conduit coil 27 disposed in the air passageway behind the rear wallboth located in the air passageway behind the back wall of chamber 14, circulates air to and from chamber14 tthrough the upper air inlets 22 and air outlet 23 over evaporator 27 where the air is cooled and caused to flow in a circulatory path within chamber 14 for refrigerating food products stored therein. Any suitable or conventional controls may be provided for starting and stopping the motor-compressor-condenser unit and for causing operation of motor 28 and consequently fan 29. Such controls are set to cause evaporator 27 to refrigerate the interior of food chamber 14 say, for example, between 37 to 42 F. This low temperature is too cold for the storage of butter if the butter is to be served and spread immediately upon removing same from the refrigerator cabinet and some means is usually provided to heat the butter above such temperature and preferably to mainstructure 17 comprises an outer or front metal panel or wall. 31 and an innermolded plastic panel or wall 32 spaced therefrom and secured thereto in any suitable manner. Insulation or insulating material 33 of any suitable type is disposed in the space between the door walls 31 and 32 (see Figure 2). The insulation 33 is preferably and particularly in the present invention of a non -odoriferous character. Inner panel 32 of door 17 is provided with integral walls 34, 36, 37 and 38 forming the top, bottom, back and sides respectively of a butter storage compartment 39 on the door. Butter compartment 39 has an access opening normally facing the interior of chamber 14. The access opening of butter compartment 39 is closed by a door 41 which-prevents flow of air from food chamber 14 into the butter compartment. In this manner butter stored in compartment 39 is prevented from absorbing odors of various foods contained-in chamber 14 and is exposed to the low temperature therein since the fan 29 circulates cold air in chamber 14 over and across the butter storage compartment door 41. A resilientgask'et 42 on. door 41 aids in tightly closing the access opening of compartment. 39. The door 41 is pivotally mounted on inner panel or wall 32 of cabinet door 17 by a piano-like hinge 43 and a knob 44 on the door facilitates opening and closing of same.

In accordance with my invention and in order to increase the temperature of butter, indicated at 45 (see Figure 2), and supported on a serving platter above the temperature maintained in food chamber 14 I provide means for venting the interior of butter storage compartment 39 to air ambient to or outside the cold food storage chamber. In the present disclosure the back wall 37 of butter compartment 39 has a vent opening 46 therein adapted for communication with the insulation space between the inner and outer door walls 31 and 32 or with air outside the refrigerated food chamber 14. While I have shown the butter compartment 39 on the refrigerator cabinet door 17 it is to be understood that this compartment may, if desired, be provided on one of the stationary cabinet walls or a wall of chamber 14. An adjustable closure member or valve in the form of a plug 47 is provided for controlling the vent opening 46. Valve member or plug 47 is secured or spot welded to an end of a casing of a thermal responsive means or thermostat generally represented by the reference numeral 50. Thermostat 50 is supported in a cradlelike portion 51 of a metal mounting bracket 52 secured to the back wall 37 of butter compartment 39 by bolts 53. Bracket 52 has a hole 48 therein registering with the vent opening 46. Valve or closure member 47 is adapted to seat uponor engage the flat portion of bracket 52 about hole 48 therein when vent 46 is to be closed. Bracket 52 and consequently thermostat 50 carried thereby is in heat conducting relationship with the butter compartment 39 and bolts 53 exposed to the interior thereof aid in transmitting the temperature therein to the bracket. Thermostat 50 includes a slidable or reciprocating plunger or piston 54 which is adapted to abut an upright end of the cradle-like portion 51 of bracket 52. A compression spring 56 surrounds plug or valve member 47 and is disposed between a shoulder on the casing of thermostat 50 and the flat mounting portion of bracket 52 and normally tends to bias the thermostat casing away from the flat portion of bracket 52 and for holding the piston or plunger 54 against the end of bracket 52. Thermostat element or means 50 lies in the cradle-like portion 51 of the mounting. bracket 52 and is adapted to move or shift relative thereto lfOI' a purpose to be hereinafter explained. A screen-like cage 58 secured under the bolts 53 surrounds the thermostat 50 and the cradle-like portion 51' of bracket 52 to prevent the insulation or insulating material 33 from interfering with movements of the casing of the temperature responsive means or thermostat. The element or means 50 may be of any suitable or conventional construction and is preferably of the type. now

4 well known to the trade as a Vernet thermostat which is shown and fully described inthe patent to Sergius Vernet, No. 2,128,274, dated August 30, 1938. Slidable or reciprocating plunger 54in the present showing corresponds substantially to the sliding reciprocable piston in the Vernet patented disclosure. Thermostatic means 50 is, by being cradled in metal bracket 52, disposed in good heat transfer relationship with the butter storage compartment 39 and the temperature of this compartment is conducted through bolts 53 and bracket 52 thereto.

It is to be understood that the temperature responsive means or thermostat 50 has, in the present case, a suitable thermo-sensitive charge as to be operable at desired or proper temperatures for controlling vent 46 so as to maintain butter stored in the butter compartment 39 at approximately 65 F. Thus when the refrigerator cabinet is installed and prior to putting the refrigerating system associated therewith in operation thermostat means 50 is, by virtue of the refrigerator and the butter compartment therein being at room temperature, expanded whereby its plunger or piston 54 is forced against the end of cradle portion 51- of bracket 52 to compress spring 56 and seat member or valve 47 against the flat part of bracket 52 for closing vent opening 46. Valve member 47 may, if desired, be engageable with or seatable against the back wall 37 of compartment 39 instead of bracket 52. The refrigerating system is rendered operative and evaporator 27 reduces the temperature in food chamber 14 to say, for example, between 37 and 42 F. Opera'- tion of motor 28 causes fan 29 to. circulate cold air forwardly in chamber 14 and upwardly along the inner face of door 17 into contact with and over walls of the butter compartment 39'to cool the interior thereof. Butter 45 in compartment 39 will be properly or safely preserved in a temperature at or below 65 F. and since the temperature of the butter compartment may fall far below 65 F. it is desirable to warm same and maintain the butter at approximately 65 F. so that it can be readily cut and easily spread immediately after removal thereof from the refrigerator cabinet. Means or thermostat 50 senses the temperature winthin compartment 39 and is operable automatically in response to a low temperature therein below 65 F. When the temperature of compartment 39 and consequently thermostat 50 is sufficiently reduced the thermostat is ineffective to exert force upon plunger or piston 54 and spring 56 therefore applies pressure to the casing of thermostat 50 to shift same whereupon piston 54 is retracted into the thermostat casing and member or valve 47 will be removed from its seat to uncover or open vent 46. This establishes communication between the int'erior of butter compartment 39 and air outside food compartment 14 and specifically between the interior of this compartment and air Within the insulation space of door 17. The temperature within butter compartment 39 thereby rises to warm butter 45 stored therein above the temperature in food compartment 14 and when the butter compartment temperature increases slightly above 65 F. thermostatic means 50 is rendered effective or operative to close vent 46. In this manner the thermostat 50 provides means for automatically controlling the adjustable or movable closure member or valve 47 for continuously opening and closing the vent 46 during use of the refrigerator to maintain butter 45 in compartment 39 at a predetermined temperature of approximately 65 F. While I have shown the butter storage compartment 39 as being vented to air in the insulation space between inner and outer walls of a wall or door structure the butter compartment may be vented to air ambient to the refrigerator cabinet. For example a tube or the like can be attached to the vent opening 46 of compartment 39 and extended to or through an outer wall of such an insulated wall structure for communication with room air temperatures.

Fromthe foregoingit should be apparent that I have provided a non-artificially heated butter storage compartment in a refrigerator cabinet to thus obviate the neoessity of extending electric current conveying wires from the main body portion of the cabinet to or into the door thereof. The improved butter storage compartment is substantially sealed from air in a food storage chamber of a refrigerator cabinet and butter contained therein does not therefore absorb odors from the foods. This is advantageous particularly in present-day household refrigerators wherein a forced circulation of air is employed to cool the food storage chamber thereof. My improved device continuously functions automatically in response to the temperature of the butter storage compartment for maintaining butter therein at a temperature whereby it can be readily cut and easily spread immediately upon removal thereof from a refrigerator. My butter compartment is warmed without expense to the user of the refrigerator cabinet.

While the form of embodiment of the invention as herein disclosed constitutes a preferred form, it is to be understood that other forms might be adopted, as may come within the scope of the claim which follows.

What is claimed is as follows:

In a refrigerator cabinet provided with a food storage chamber bounded by spaced apart walls having insulating material disposed in the space therebetween, a closed refrigerating system associated with said cabinet including a refrigerant evaporator for cooling said chamber to a low food preserving temperature, a butter storage cornpartrnent inset in a wall of said food chamber and having a side thereof located in said insulating material so as to be unexposed to air in the chamber cooled by said evaporator, said butter compartment being provided with an access opening and a door therefor facing said chamber, said unexposed side of the compartment within said insulating material having a vent to air outside said chamber, a movable closure member for said vent, means carried by and thermally contacting said unexposed side of the butter storage compartment for automatically controlling said closure member, and said means being responsive to a predetermined temperature of said compartment for establishing communication between said outside air and the interior of the compartment to warm butter stored therein above the temperature within said food chamber for maintaining the butter at approximately F.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,011,881 Stewart July 31, 1933 2,068,550 Knight June 19, 1935 2,565,995 Spencer Jan. 4, 1949 OTHER REFERENCES German application S. 41,456, May 17, 1956. 

